Bryank75
Banned
- Eight months after Tencent’s acquisition, Leyou is mired in cancelled projects and hobbled by an exodus of employees
- Tencent is said to be particularly interested in one Leyou investee company, American developer Certain Affinity
'Fast-forward to August and Amazon has cancelled its online game deal with Leyou
because the US company could not come to terms with Tencent. What is more alarming is that Leyou has become a shadow of its former self, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified because the information is not public.
For Shenzhen-based Tencent, those count as tiny setbacks when compared with its outsize position in the global video gaming market, where it continues to “ruthlessly” snap up stakes in companies big and small at whatever the cost to dominate the industry, according to the people familiar.
Tencent declined to comment.'
'The deal, according to people familiar, gave Tencent what it really wanted: the option to invest into and own Certain Affinity, an independent American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. In October 2017, Leyou reported that it acquired a 20 per cent stake in Certain Affinity for US$10 million.
Certain Affinity has a proven track record developing innovative, triple-A console and personal computer action video games, including both original titles and co-development on multiple games, in the popular Call of Duty and Halo franchises as well as the DOOM and Left 4 Dead series.
In May last year, ahead of its Leyou takeover, Tencent started casting a wider net for content from console gaming developers
, in search of intellectual property (IP) to create the next blockbuster, as the company races to meet increased global demand for new games.
Tencent plans to pursue more collaborations and investments in the console gaming sector, following its deals with Japanese developers
Marvelous and PlatinumGames, according to analysts.'